CSUF men’s basketball edge out LBSU in conference tilt

Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball defeated Long Beach State 85-82 in a game that came down to the final seconds. With Khalil Ahmad’s 19 points on the night, the Titans nabbed their seventh win in the last eight games.

Ahmad quickly found the hot hand with 10 points in the first five minutes of the second half. He finished the night shooting 6-for-14 from the field.

With this loss, Long Beach State has dropped seven of their last eight games. However, Mason Riggins and Temidayo Yussuf performed well for the 49ers, as the two combined for 34 points.

The Titans cruised the majority of the game and maintained the lead for over 30 minutes. With their largest lead of the game, the Titans’ 12-point advantage quickly slipped once the 49ers gained momentum. With Long Beach in possession and the success of a 3-point shot to send the game into overtime, Awosika put the 49ers’ hope to bed with a steal to end the contest.

Ahmad, who ranks fourth in the Big West in scoring, struggled in the first half, missing all four of his field goal attempts and scoring only two points that came via the free-throw line.

With Ahmad getting off to a slow start, Arnold provided the Titans with quality offense off the bench in the first half. Within his first 14 minutes, Arnold shot four-of-eight from the field including two 3-pointers.

The Titans’ bench combined for 21 points and head coach Dedrique Taylor praised the bench’s effort in contributing to the win.

“That’s just the beauty of having a team, I thought Wayne and Josh (Pitts) in particular really helped us win that ball game tonight,” said Taylor.

Taylor credited Arnold’s big game to his growth as a player over the course of the season.

“He’s no longer a freshman,” Taylor said. “He didn’t put his head down, he just competes, he sticks his nose in and when he does those things, he’s pretty good.”